I made this dark rye loaf 4 years ago. A lot of water and experience passed under the bridge since 2020. I decided to make this bread after lunch, when we finished the oat bread I made a few days ago. In 4 hours, most of which was proofing and baking, this was the result.

I made two loaves from the recipe below. The longer one was in a covered, unglazed, stoneware baking pan, the other was a free standing boule baked on a baking stone.

The crumb was perfect, the crust wonderful and the flavor exceptional. Although that is only my opinion, however, QC totally agrees with me. It was impossible to resist slicing and sampling the bread before it cooled adequately.

DON’T OVER MIX, OVER-KNEAD, OVER PROOF DON’T OVER BAKE.

Homemade Rye Bread

Makes 2 loaves

INGREDIENTS
16 g (4½ tsp) packages active dry yeast
592 g (2 ½ c) warm water (just barely warm to the touch)
2/3 (225 g) cup molasses
2 Tbl caraway seeds (optional)
1 Tbl salt
50 g (¼ c) vegetable oil
20 g (¼ c) cocoa powder
1 Tbl Rye Bread Improver
3 Tbl Bread and Cake Enhancer
240 g (2 c) rye flour
700 g (5 c) bread flour
Egg wash (optional)

METHOD

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the molasses. Put yeast mixture into a stand mixer bowl.
2. Add the caraway seeds, salt, vegetable oil, cocoa powder, 2 cups of rye flour and then 2 cups of bread flour, mixing into the yeast mixture after each addition with a silicone spoon.
3. Add Rye Bread Improver and Bread and Cake Enhancer
4. Add more bread flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is not so sticky and is too hard to mix it with the silicone spoon.
5. Knead the dough with a Kitchen-aide bench mixer using the dough hook. Add more bread flour in small amounts until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Once the sides of the bowl are mostly clean then knead 8 minutes.
6. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until the dough is soft and springs back when poked.
7. Let the dough rise: Spread some vegetable oil around a large bowl and place the dough in it, turning it to coat it with oil.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
9. Gently press down on the risen dough to release some of its air. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, knead the dough a few turns and then divide it in half with a sharp knife. The full loaf should weigh ~1910 g.
10. Shape each half into loaf. Place dough loafs into either oiled 8×4-inch bread loaf pans, or onto a flat baking sheet or peel that was sprinkled with corn meal, depending if you want to cook the loaves in pans or directly on a baking stone. Cover with plastic or a damp cloth.
11. Let the loaves rise: Let the bread rise again, this time not doubling in volume, but rising by about half of its volume, about 30 to 45 minutes, half as long as the first rising. The dough should be peeking over the top of the loaf pan if using a loaf pan. (Over-proofing the bread may cause it to collapse as the yeast will be exhausted and not have any more energy when placed in the oven.)
12. If you are using a Dutch Oven or baking stone, place it in the oven and preheat oven to 350°F for at least half an hour before baking.
13. If baking in a Dutch Oven lift the dough by the corners of the parchment paper and place the dough and parchment paper into the Dutch Oven or directly on the baking stone. (Brush with optional egg wash. Whole eggs and water for a crisp shiny crust, egg whites and water for a crisp crust only.) Score the loaves a few times on the top of the dough right before putting it in the oven. Be careful, the Dutch Oven or baking stone will be hot!
14. Put loaves in the oven. If you have a mister, mist the dough with a little water the first 10 minutes of baking. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until done. The internal temperature should be ~200F. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.